


Ghosts!?!

by elwon



Series: JayDick Flash Fic [33]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Banter, Established JayDick, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Jason sees dead people, Kissing, M/M, disturbing encounters, fun fairs, jaydick-flashfic: ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elwon/pseuds/elwon
Summary: Dick and Jason have a seasonally appropriate date at a “Haunted House”. But Jason seems strangely reluctant to go inside...Sequel toCold CaseandShades of the Past
Relationships: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson
Series: JayDick Flash Fic [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1270460
Comments: 22
Kudos: 173
Collections: Jaydick Flash Fanwork Challenge





	Ghosts!?!

“A haunted house.” Jason says flatly, staring up at the newest installation in the trying-to-revitalise-by-having-a-permanent-funfair Amusement Mile. 

Dick’s heart sinks a little at Jason’s lack of enthusiasm. “You said you didn’t care where we went on our date, and it was quote ‘totally up to you, Dickie’.” 

“I did make that foolish mistake, yes.” Jason says, eyeing the glaring lights advertising the place. They blink o -and off, shining brightly, eye-catching even among the other attractions.

“C’mon, Jay. It’ll be fun!” Dick wheedles, trying to salvage his plans for their date. Plans that involve giving Jason a great reason to grab onto him in public without being embarrassed. 

“That’s one word for it.” Jason grumbles, but still he takes Dick’s hand and walks up the steps with him, anyway. “We’re buying chilli dogs after this. No complaints.”

“Absolutely none!” Dick says cheerfully, thrilled beyond words that Jason’s going along with his plan. “I’ll even buy you two.”

The doors swing open automatically with a hiss; Dick notices the slight sneer on Jason’s lips. The upward curl usually foretells of bad things happening to whoever causes it. Dick ignores it for the sake of their date, stepping through into the dark foyer. It’s covered in neon glow-in-the-dark paint, the kind of punk goth edgy decor that’s very Gotham, and leads to a spooky atmosphere straight away.

“If this place is fucking Joker-inspired, then we’re leaving.” Jason mutters, his hand tightening on Dick’s.

“It’s not, I checked before we came. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t take you anywhere like that.” Dick says, patting at Jason’s shoulder with his free hand. “Only normal Halloween spoopy-ness here.”

“Right. Spooky... Wait, did you just say _spoopy_? Fucking seriously?” Jason says, horrified as he stares at Dick. “You’re right; this is fucking nightmare inducing. How did you even find out about this place?”

“Selina told me, we were chatting about how there’s no good date options in Gotham anymore.” Dick shrugs, remembering how their rooftop chase had ended up with them getting ice-cream, even though it was freezing, and nice catch-up as they ate it. “She mentioned this place, I told her she was the _crème de la crim_ ; and I got a kiss on the cheek for it.” 

“Hmm. If Catlady recommended this place, then I guess it’s gonna be OK.” Jason says, chewing on his lip. “After you.”

“How very gentlemanly, using me as a human shield.” Dick can’t keep the glee out of his voice, or wipe the big wide smile from his face as he leads Jason through the swinging doors.

“You can play damsel in distress at home in bed later if it bothers you... I can be the anti-hero that rescues you.” Jason snorts dryly, and Dick can’t help the shiver that runs down his spine at Jason’s suggestion.

He turns on his heel to look at Jason as he walks backwards. “Well, maybe I will!”

“Sounds like the perfect way to end this date.” Jason smirks, pulling Dick towards him, spinning him so that his arm ends up over Dick’s shoulders as they make their way through the house. The foyer of the house is the stereotypical 19th Century vibe. Creepy black and white photographs on the wall, fake blood splatters and cobwebs hanging around. Jason drags him into an alcove, giving him a kiss that promises of the way their night will end; fierce, hot and everything that Dick loves about kissing Jason. Including the way Jason’s arms are strong around him, and that Dick has to go up on tiptoe. 

Walking through the Haunted House, it’s got all the usual jump scares. Things popping out of the shadows, with smoke and mirrors giving off illusions. It’s actually a pretty impressive attempt; someone’s even thought of covering up the whirring of the machines by playing the eerie sounds and spooky noises that are perfectly timed with them. 

Both Dick and Jason are too well trained to jump at the pop outs, so while Dick’s a little disappointed he can’t jump and cling on to Jason’s mighty biceps as they walk around; he can’t really complain when one of them is within kissing distance of his face. Dick’s enjoying the effects, but he gradually realises that Jason’s not really looking at them. If anything he’s staring at the spaces between the exhibits.

“Jay? Everything OK?” Dick peers at his boyfriend. He hopes Jason’s not bored. “You’re not enjoying this, are you?”

“No, no, it’s fine! This place is really well done.” Jason says, turning to blink at Dick. His eyes are reflecting the neon green glow from nearby and it’s ...Eerie. “It’s not that.”

“You seem distracted.” Dick bites his lip from saying more. Jason’s not just distracted; he seems completely disconnected right now.

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry. It’s just...” Jason trails off, and he’s got that distant look on his face again. It’s one that creeps over him fairly often, Dick’s noticed, but usually not when he’s got Dick in his arms. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Dick would let it go, but Jason’s eyes keep darting off to the side. Dick turns his head, but there’s nothing but a blank bit of wall. No creepy portrait, or fake blood splatters, or ghoulish paint. “You say that, but you’re acting _off_.”

“I’m fine. Let’s keep going.” Jason insists, nearly dragging Dick to the next room.

“Jay...” Dick protests, trying to make him slow down.

“Please let it go, Dick.” Jason sounds done. Done and defeated, and Dick hates that he has to see his boyfriend like this when he could potentially help, if Jason would just say what the problem is.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Dick says firmly, whatever’s going on with Jason is worrying him, but pushing him when there’s a hint of panic in Jason’s eyes is never a good idea. “Right now we’re going to go into the pumpkin room.”

“A room full of pumpkins. This’ll be, well, something I’m sure.” Jason tries for a smile but it comes out wan and tired. Dick swallows down the comment he wants to make as they go inside.

It is indeed a room full of pumpkins. Some of them are even real, and expertly carved with local landmarks like Wayne Tower. The rest are more typical Halloween designs, made out of plastic and ceramics, but all of them are lit up from inside with flickering led lights. It makes the shadows around the room dance. Dick takes note of a few of them because, damn, he wants to decorate their apartment with pumpkins that won’t rot when they’re forgotten about by busy vigilantes. The overall effect of the pumpkin room is lovely; wonderfully atmospheric without being spooky or creepy.

“You know, I never would have said a roomful of pumpkins could be pretty...” Dick muses, leaning closer to look at carving of a cat.

“But this roomful of pumpkins is pretty?” Jason gives a short quiet huff of a laugh. He finally looks fully present and engaged and Dick relaxes. “It _is_ nice.”

“Right?” Dick stands up, grinning at Jason. They spend a few more minutes looking at all the carvings before Dick steers them out of the door and to the next room.

It’s a hall of mirrors, and Jason lets Dick move away as they walk around. Dick can’t resist making faces in the warped perspectives mirrors, pulling the kind of silly poses that usually makes whoever he’s with groan and tell him to knock it off. The expected comments from Jason don’t come, and when he turns to look around for him; Dick realises Jason’s in the next room already, muttering something quietly under his breath.

“Shut up.” Jason says roughly. “No. Not happening. Go away.”

“Jay?” Dick walks over, there’s no one in the room. In fact, the whole house is empty of other patrons. Creepily so, considering that there’s no entrance fee to come inside the Haunted House. The Funfair was busy outside, with plenty of patrons, even given the place’s history; but in here it’s dead. There’s no other word for it. “Everything OK?”

“What? Dick?” Jason jolts, twisting to look at him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“You were doing that thing again.” Dick says softly, trying not sound accusatory. “Talking to thin air.”

“Uh.” Jason says, eyes flicking around the room as if searching for a good denial. “Was I?”

“Yes.” Dick bites his lip, stopping himself from saying any more.

“Fuck.” Jason exhales forcefully. “I just want one night off from being the fucking _Revenant_ but you guys can’t even give me that, huh?”

“Jay?” Dick reaches out slowly, resting his hand lightly on Jason’s shoulder. If Jason’s hearing voices... “What’s a revenant?”

“It’s OK, Dickie.” Jason sighs, his eyes fixed in the distance, unfocused. “I’m not going crazy. Uh, the Revenant’s kinda a title I have because I can see ghosts. And this place is crawling with them.”

“You see.... Ghosts.” Dick says slowly. He’s about to ask a follow-up question, make sure that Jason’s not having a psychotic break, when the temperature around them drops sharply. Too sharply. It’s like opening a fridge door in summer, the heat simply leeches away. The Haunted House isn’t air-conditioned as such. There are no fans around, no airflow to go out of control. There haven’t been any noticeable cold spots. But now, it’s just sudden, frigid, cold. 

“Guys, I swear, if you don’t fuck off and let me enjoy my date I will _not_ come back, and you’ll be stuck here another hundred years.” Jason growls, directing his threat over Dick’s shoulder. “This dude is officially. Off. Limits.”

The lights flicker on and off in a way that Dick _knows_ isn’t part of the thorough set up of the Haunted House. He wasn’t even doing it consciously, but he took notice of the pattern for the flickering lights, which has been regular the entire way around the house. The temperature gets even lower, and Dick shivers in his thick winter coat. With a growing dread, Dick can feel eyes on the back of his neck. Cold sweat drips down from his hairline under his collar, and Dick wants to brush it away, but he’s reluctant to move his hands up that high. It feels like the sensation you get when someone is standing right behind you, close enough that their breath moves your hair. Whoever it is that’s standing behind Dick is full of malice, and it makes fear roll down his spine.

“Jay...” Dick can’t help the quiver in his voice. He’s suddenly reminded of the house he’s visited on Dual Street, last year. That feeling of wrong-run-NOW, is exactly the same. “Jay, can we-”

“Yeah, we’re leaving.” Jason says firmly, grabbing an unprotesting Dick’s wrist and pulling him after him, as he turns on his heel and heads towards the next room. Dick feels weak and nauseous; his head whirling as Jason makes him almost run through the darkened and neon-paint-splattered rooms. He can barely keep up with the route they’re taking, needing to trust Jason to get them where they’re going; but eventually he uses the training Bruce instilled in him to get the queasiness under control. He spots the exit sign seconds after Jason does. Jason kicks the door open, and the feeling of being chased out lessens the second Dick’s foot hits the doorframe on the way out. 

“Jason? Are we OK out here?” Dick asks as the cool, yet warmer than inside, night breeze hits their faces once they’ve fully outside.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine outside.” Jason shakes his head. “Marc and Jimmy will keep the others away.”

“Who?” Dick says, looking around for anyone that seems like they know Jason at all. But all the passers-by are doing exactly that, taking no notice of the two of them.

“Oh. They’re uh...” Jason pauses, his eyes going slightly unfocused. “No, dude, I am _not_ calling you my _acolytes_ , I don’t care if it’s accurate, what the fuck?”

“Jay?” Dick prompts, curling his fingers around Jason’s upper coat sleeve. “They’re ghosts?”

“They’re ghost bouncers, I guess?” Jason tilts his head, a grin pulling at his mouth. “They vet the requests I get from the others.”

“They’re here now?” Dick looks around, but he really can’t see anything, or feel an unnatural chill in the air.

Jason shrugs, apparently unconcerned by being followed by ghosts day-in, day-out. “Yeah. I mean they keep their distance most of the time? They’re not constantly around me.”

“Wait, you get requests?” Dick blinks, trying to imagine what the hell ghosts want from his boyfriend. “Because you’re the Revenant?”

“Just stuff to help them move on, mostly. Deliver a message, tell the police where their body is, scare their abuser into... Confessing. That sort of thing.” Jason says with another shrug and a suspicious pause that makes Dick think that Jason doesn’t scare abuser into _confessing_. “Uh yeah. I died, I came back, I could see ghosts. It’s kinda a thing?”

“And that helps?” Dick nods, trying to wrap his head around the idea that Jason’s some sort of ghost therapist. “You have to deal with this all the time? Is that why you’re nearly always distracted?” 

“Yeah. It’s pretty constant. They’ve been waiting a long time for someone who they can talk to. ‘The Revenant.’ Makes me uh... Kinda a big deal to them, I guess. But if I can help ease their pain, help them let go of the grief and regrets. Then I might as well do it.” Jason pulls Dick back under his arm, looking away for a moment. “Because agony’s bespoke. Yours is yours, theirs is theirs. Mostly, grief is just lonely.”

“Well, in that case... I’m proud of you for helping them. You’re a good man.” Dick will probably struggle with the idea that Jason’s some kind of supernatural fixer for a while, but he’d already decided he and Jason were in it for the long haul, so he’s got the time to figure it out. Dick slides his arm under the back of Jason’s jacket, feeling the warmth there as they start walking along the avenue back to the main fairground. “And that was surprisingly deep, Jay.” 

“Rude.” Jason snorts, not offended at all, given his wide smile. “I can be eloquent.”

“It was beautiful.” Dick says, giving Jason a small quiet smile. He lifts his face up to the sky; staring at the full moon hanging there, the only light peeking through the cloudy Gotham night. “Is it odd that the moon feels more beautiful after that house?”

“No. It’s the relief.” Jason says, dropping a blink and you’ll miss it kiss to the side of Dick’s head. “But you’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life, Dickie.”

“You’re just saying that because you want chilli dogs.” Dick grins, pleased at the public display of affection.

“Lies.” Jason drags him in closer, dropping another kiss onto Dick’s cheek. “I want two.”


End file.
